Exhibition Opening @ MRAG - ZOONOSES Nicola Hooper + 'Unbidden'

Exhibition Opening @ MRAG - ZOONOSES Nicola Hooper + 'Unbidden' by The Press Club artist collective

Official Opening: Friday 14 July 6pm 

Exhibition dates: 14 July to 26 August 2023 

Manning Regional Art Gallery and the 'Friends of the Gallery' are pleased to host our next exhibitions, join us in opening ZOONOSES Dr Nicola Hooper and 'Unbidden' by The Press Club artist collective. Come along and meet the artists!

Manning Regional Art Gallery is proud to present ZOONOSES, a major touring exhibition showcasing artworks by Dr Nicola Hooper.

Dr Nicola Hooper has taken the darker side of nature and turned it into exquisite, thought-provoking art.

Through drawing and lithography, Nicola uses fairy-tale iconology and rhymes to explore concepts surrounding zoonoses (animal diseases that can infect humans) and how we perceive certain animals in the context of fear and disease.

Speaking about her work, Nicola said, “These works use fairy tales, myths and rhymes as a metaphor to discuss zoonotic outbreaks in a non-threatening and restrained manner. I have carefully studied animal specimens in museum collections and applied them to archival and current newspaper stories of zoonotic diseases that have had devastating effects on human life.”

The ZOONOSES exhibition stems from Nicola’s doctoral research and provides insightful observations into our contradictory perceptions of animals in relation to fear of disease.

Nicola says she aims to generate greater understanding of the natural world through her artwork.

She explained, “It is interesting how we humans both despise animals for their role in spreading disease across species, yet also revere them as they provide us with the means of vaccination through scientific testing and discovery.”

ZOONOSES is a touring exhibition of works by Dr Nicola Hooper presented by Logan Art Gallery, Logan City Council, in partnership with Museums & Galleries Queensland. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program, and is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy. Proudly sponsored by Haymes Paint.

image: Dr Nicola Hooper, Detail of Zoonotic Wallpapers; Ross River Zoonotic Wallpaper (left), Ode to Morris Zoonotic Wallpaper (top), Tularaemia Zoonotic Wallpaper (right), Lady Wildes Toxoplasmosis Wallpaper (bottom), 2017, digital vinyl prints of hand coloured lithographs, dimensions variable, image courtesy the artist.

When

Location

Manning Regional Art Gallery, 12 Macquarie Street, TAREE, 2430, View Map